Cal women's basketball travels to Nebraska
Today at 1:00 PM PST on Big Ten Network, Cal women’s basketball will take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Nebraska. This will be the Golden Bears’ second game away from Haas Pavilion and first game against a team from another Power 5 conference. Cal comes into this game with a 6-0 record while Nebraska is below .500 with a 3-4 record.
The key to winning this game if you are Cal is making things as tough inside as possible for Nebraska sophomore forward Jessica Shepard, who is averaging 18.9 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Shepard is by far and away the most talented player on this Cornhusker team and so containing her and not allowing her to have a big game will be key.
Obviously, in order to accomplish this, Cal will need to get big production from their own sophomore forward Kristine Anigwe, who has been averaging 18.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. The battle between Kristine Anigwe and Jessica Shepard inside will be fun to watch since Shepard is one of the few bigs in the country who can give Kristine Anigwe a run for her money.
The second major key to winning this game for Cal is for their veterans to step up. That starts with senior forward Courtney Range, who won MVP honors at the Cal Classic last week for her stellar performance. Range is averaging 14.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on 41.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Courtney Range will have to set the tone early and get off to a good start. Afterwards, sophomores Kristine Anigwe, Asha Thomas, and Mikayla Cowling should likewise follow suit. With a year under their belts, they too know what it takes to get wins on the road.
Third, Cal has to knock down their foul shots. On the road, free throws can cost you and Cal is shooting a less than exciting 60.4% from the foul line. The only two players shooting above 70% from the foul line on the team are C.J. West (75%) and Mikayla Cowling (80%), which is really surprising when you consider the quality shooters they have in Courtney Range, Kristine Anigwe, and Asha Thomas. Cal has to step it up at the line today and get all the free points they can while also keeping Nebraska away from the foul line. The one good news for Cal in the free throw department is that Nebraska shoots even worse from the foul line (59.6%), so it’s not like Nebraska is good in this department, either.
As far as overall shooting numbers, Nebraska is shooting just 39.5% from the field and 27.7% from 3-point range while Cal is shooting 49.2% from the field and 40.5% from 3-point range. Cal is a much better shooting team, so that should bode well for them across the board. If Cal can up their free throw percentages, they will really be in great shape.
In terms of a prediction for this game, I’m going to say that Cal wins this game 73-64. Given that it’s a road game with a great crowd, this won’t be an easy game on that alone. However, Cal is the much superior and talented team. Cal has a lot more weapons than Nebraska and it shows in their 6-0 record in comparison to Nebraska’s 3-4 record. Cal really should win this game comfortably.